Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his NBA career -- a big reason why a spot is now reserved for his image in bronze outside Staples Center. On Nov. 16, it will become the sixth artwork in an extremely popular array of sports statuary at the venue. The unveiling announced Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, who co-commissioned the piece with Staples Center, means another score for the Rottblatt-Amrany studio of Highwood, Ill., which created the three statues of Lakers greats already on the plaza.

The Lakers plan to unveil a statue of Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar outside Staples Center during the 2012-13 season, The Times has learned. No date for unveiling the statue has been finalized. Abdul-Jabbar, 65, played 14 seasons for the Lakers and retired in 1989. He remains the NBA's all-time leading scorer, won five of his six NBA titles and three of his six league MVP awards with the Lakers, and Abdul-Jabbar's mastery of his famed skyhook helped establish him as one of the best centers of all time.

Don't let the headline fool you. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn't making the third "Airplane!"movie. But when the former Lakers center tweeted a picture of himself sitting on a plane with actor Danny DeVito, it only brought nostalgic reminders about Abdul-Jabbar's role in the 1980's comedy. Some may recall Abdul-Jabbar's clever word play as Roger Murdock when he and his co-pilots, Clarence Oveur and Victor Basta, prepared for takeoff. "We have clearance, Clarence," Abdul-Jabbar said as Murdock.

Dwight Howard's arrival to the Lakers doesn't just bring promise of collecting his first NBA championship. It also gives him an opportunity to join the organization's esteemed fraternity of centers. That includes one of the pioneers of pro basketball (George Mikan), the highest scorer in a single game (Wilt Chamberlain), the NBA's all-time leading scorer (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and one of the NBA's most physical big men (Shaquille O'Neal). One notable member of this group believes Howard can join the club, assuming he stays with the Lakers beyond next season.

Their stories are eerily similar, even if there is a gap of 37 years between them. Each was the NBA's dominant center and each demanded to be traded. Both stars ended up with the Lakers and their deals sent shock waves across the league. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 28 when he was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Lakers in 1975 as part of a six-player deal, while Dwight Howard, 26, arrived Friday as part of a four-team, 12-player trade that also sent Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA holds an annual draft, but it has never meant much to the Lakers. They don't draft stars so much as acquire them. It's been this way for decades, with the Lakers often harvesting top talent from elsewhere instead of growing their own. Dwight Howard, acquired from Orlando on Friday, was only the latest example of the Lakers making a move that shifted the NBA's landscape. Here are a few of the other monumental Lakers trades, or signings, that helped the franchise win 16 NBA championships, one behind the Boston Celtics: Wilt Chamberlain (1968-73 with Lakers)

Under Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's shy and reclusive personality stands a man gracefully taking center stage. He did that on the hardwood. Abdul-Jabbar won five of his six championships with the Lakers during the Showtime era. He finished as the NBA's all-time leading scorer (38,387 points). And he capped his 20-year career with a distinguishable skill-set with his famed sky hook. Abdul-Jabbar also has done that with acting. He grew up taking acting lessons at St. Jude Catholic School in Manhattan.

The behavior Andrew Bynum has exhibited in recent weeks puzzles plenty of Laker fans. He launched an ill-advised three-pointer that got him benched two weeks ago, and vowed to keep shooting from beyond the arc. Bynum revealed there are times he doesn't join the team's huddles during timeouts. He earned two ejections within the past three weeks against Houston despite the coaching staff's insistence he stay composed. Despite the Lakers' rule that players can't play loud music in the locker room, Bynum has blasted it through his headphones at his locker before recent games.

Still a winner Re " Still hooked ," Opinion, March 24 Kudos to Patt Morrison. There is so much more about us than the tragedy of probable homicide or one more mentally troubled pop star. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a caring, thoughtful superstar with top-of-the-line mental and physical agility and ability; our renaissance man, promoting knowledge of ourselves. A true role model with unmanufactured celebrityhood. F. Daniel Gray Los Angeles I cheered after reading this interview.